Girls soccer team nets first league win

Sara Cass scores the nights only goal to down Milwaukie 1-0

MILWAUKIE  The Sandy girls soccer team cracked the win column for the first time in NWOC play with a 1-0 win at Milwaukie on Thursday night.

The Pioneers broke through in the second half when Ella Templin challenged the goalie with a shot that bounced off, allowing teammate Sara Cass to pounce on the rebound and put it into the back of the net.

Sandy kept the ball in Milwaukies half for most of the final 40 minutes and had no trouble closing out the shutout.

The win was key in the teams postseason hopes, jumping them six spots in the 5A RPI to No. 20. The top 24 at the end of the regular season will compete in play-in qualifier matches.

The girls have been playing hard and getting tough results, so it was good to get a win and get some confidence going, Pioneers coach Justin Luebbert said.

Milwaukie pestered the Sandy net several times in the games first 15 minutes, but couldnt get anything to go in.

The first chance came when Krista Sanford made a run down the right side and fired a low bouncer toward the goal, but Sandy goalie Kelby Richardson was in position to make the stop.

Moments later, Milwaukies Samantha Persad beat her defender through the middle and deflected a shot in front of the goalie only to see the ball squirt about a foot wide of the post.

Milwaukies final chance came on a corner kick that forced Richardson off her feet to pull down over a crowd at the near post.

The middle section of the half was played largely in the midfield before Sandy created some scoring opportunities before heading to the locker room.

The most dangerous ball came with 1:25 to play before intermission when Kira Behan played a ball into the box and Templin deflected it at the front of the goal. Milwaukie goalie Shelby Kennedy moved across the line just in time to make the save.